From the desk of our Board President, Francisco Chavez:
Happy Holidays!
As we bring this exciting and pivotal year to a close, the foundation is proud of the many funding requests we have approved… a total of $39,000 in 2022 alone!
It is also, sadly, a time to say goodbye to one of our longest serving board members, Mrs. Mary Flanagan. She has served on the GMF board for 18 years, and we are incredibly grateful for her many years of service getting the foundation to where it is today. If you see her around, be sure to tell her thank you!
As we say goodbye to one board member, we welcome a new one! Mrs. Sharon Benton has just been approved to join our board. We welcome her passion for our mission and the many skills she brings to the table.
Our very active board recently approved several items that are essential to students’ academic success and growth, but one in particular is worthy of highlighting: We’re sending five seniors and three chaperones to Aspen, Colorado to take part in a unique program that teaches those who are blind and visually impaired how to ski and snowboard. What an exciting opportunity!
Thank you for your continued support. Programs like that wouldn’t be possible without a tremendous amount of assistance from our donors. If you can, please consider making a year-end contribution. As we close out 2022, I extend to you the warmest of wishes, and I look forward to engaging with you in 2023!
New Board Member: Sharon Benton
Sharon was born in Mineola, New York, but once she moved to North Carolina, she began attending the Governor Morehead School for the Blind. She graduated in 1979, then worked at temporary jobs doing telemarketing until finally getting permanent employment with the Raleigh Lion’s Clinic for the Blind, eventually becoming a Section Head. In 1989, Sharon accepted a position with the Sheraton Reservations Center in Raleigh, continuing work in marketing. Following the closure of that center, she worked a variety of jobs until finally being offered a position with the City of Raleigh Utility Billing Department in the Finance Division, where she worked for many years before retiring in 2015.
Sharon married her childhood sweetheart, James Benton, Sr. in 1977. They were married 40 years, until his passing in 2017. Together, they had two children, as well as three grandchildren. Sharon is also now a great-grandmother! In her retirement, Sharon remains very active in the community. She is President of the Raleigh Blind Bowlers/The Raleigh Outlaws, recently served as Vice President of the Friends of the NC Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, Secretary of the NC Reading Service, Treasurer of the Raleigh Mayor’s Committee for Persons with Disabilities, and held positions on her church council, as well as on the board of directors for RLCB, Inc. She has also hosted a podcast titled “Connect to Success” on the Triangle Radio Reading Service, prepared food to serve at Raleigh Outlaw events, and sung at her church. And if you attended the recent GMF Giving Season Gala fundraiser, you probably saw Sharon helping out there!
We are happy to welcome Sharon to the Governor Morehead Foundation board!
Senior Class Trip
GMF has approved $4,000 in assistance toward the senior class trip for five students and their chaperones to travel to Aspen, Colorado later this winter. The students also raised an additional $3,500 for the trip, which was specifically chosen because there is already an organization in place to work with GMS students. The organization is called Challenge Aspen, and their sole mission is to work with people who have disabilities, teaching them how to ski and/or snowboard.
Joseph Gray, the GMS instructor who organized the trip, had the pleasure of going to Aspen in 2005 as a senior attending the Tennessee School for the Blind. Mr. Gray says the “opportunity truly shaped me into the person that I am today. The skills that I gained were unmeasurable. This was the first time that I flew on a plane, stayed in a hotel room without my family, and [stepped] into a pair of skis. The confidence I gained allowed me to go on and [become] a US Paralympic National Champion in Track and Field.”
This trip will not only allow GMS students the opportunity to ski, but also to collaborate with senior class peers from the Tennessee School for the Blind. TSB is bringing 10 students. The five students from GMS who are going to Aspen are super excited, and the Governor Morehead Foundation is pleased to support this endeavor!
Foundation Aid
The Governor Morehead Foundation was pleased to approved these funding requests from the Governor Morehead School at our December board meeting:
- $1,450 – Field trip for 8th grade and H.S. Biology classes to the coast
- $1,000 – Supplies for the school yearbook
- $1,046 – Supplies for science classes
- $1,192 – Supplies/equipment for band program
Fundraising
We are incredibly grateful for this level of support. At the same time, we are still working to raise monies to help fund the multi-sensory accessible playground at the school, for which $68,000 is still needed, as well as several major expenditures. The Foundation’s work is never done, but we are thrilled with what we have been able to accomplish this year!
GMF continues to sell greeting cards featuring art created by students under the guidance of GMS Art Teacher, Lisa Medina. Cards are available from any member of the GMF board. Contributions to GMF continue to be made through the N.C. State Employees Combined Campaign and by indicating GMF through Amazon Smile. And, as always, you may donate through our website.